There are nail wheel swatches of these polishes from a blogger who saw the collection at Cosmoprof (click HERE to see the photo--a heads-up though that the blog itself is not in English) and based on that, I'm gonna have to say this collection looks like a miss to me. I think the idea of chrome textured polishes sounds intriguing, but the execution (or at least how it appears in that nail wheel photo) makes these look more like lumpy, bubbly frost polishes. *sad trombone* Wah waaahhhhh.

But of course, I will reserve my final judgment for when the collection launches in November and we see more swatches.What do you think of the Crinkled Chrome Collection: intriguingly different or a misstep?

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Barry M Spring Green is a bright and bouncy green creme that reminds me of a freshly mowed lawn. The name was a perfect choice! This is a gorgeous, highly pigmented shade of green that is intense without going into neon territory.

The formula is absolutely flawless and covers in two coats. I wish Barry M (which is a UK brand) was easily accessible in the US because it's one of the nicest budget brands I've ever tried. The quality and the color selection are both top notch!

I have to give a big shout-out to my friend Alya for snagging this beautiful polish for me during her study abroad in England. If you're a green lover with an international swap buddy, Spring Green is definitely worth getting your hands on.

Friday, September 27, 2013

We've got our first peek at what's in store for 2014 with Orly's Blush Collection! The collection, which will launch February 2014, features six soft, whistful shades that embody the feeling of spring.

There are some pretty spring shades here for sure, but nothing that I think I absolutely need--at least, not based on these preview shots. If you're in need of some classic, work-appropriate shades though, you'll probably find a lot to love with this collection!

Are you looking forward to any of these colors? What types of shades and trends do you want to see for the 2014 collections?

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Revlon Demure is a lovely peachy coral with a soft silver shimmer. I received this polish in a swap with my wonderful friend Amanda. This polish came out as part of Revlon's Fire & Ice Collection, which was a tribute to some of the classic shades that helped make Revlon into the cosmetics powerhouse it is today. I think Demure is a perfect summer-to-fall transition shade and an excellent example of a work-appropriate polish that still has some fun and flash to it.

The formula applied without any issues and covered in three coats. The shimmer is more of a sheen than a sparkle, if that makes any sense. It gives the coral a nice glimmer of depth and shine that catches the light beautifully.

Demure is a fabulous palette cleanser shade. It's understated without being dull. I love the classic nature of this color too; makes me think of something you might see Joan Holloway wearing on Mad Men.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

I've got something fun to share from Born Pretty Store today: mustache nails! I've said this many times now but Born Pretty's water decals are one of my very favorite nail art products. All you do is cut the decal out, wet it, peel off the backing, press it on your nail and BAM! You are now an instant nail art virtuoso. :)

The decals come in a ton of different themes and designs. There is a surprisingly wide array of mustache-themed ones and I thought they were too much fun to pass up! The design I chose is K183 (you can see them all HERE). This particular design has a ton of mustache action goin' on: mustaches with sunglasses, mustaches with monocles, mustaches with hearts...all good stuff.

Here are the decals over OPI My Vampire Is Buff, a lovely off-white creme that has quickly become an essential, much-loved polish in my stash.

I love how this one looks like the lovechild of Mr. Monopoly and the Pringles guy:

That saucy little guy on my ring finger is my favorite! He is totally what swayed me to pick this design. I had planned on making his nail an accent nail with a bright color like blue or red, but then I forgot and painted all of my nails with My Vampire Is Buff, only remembering once my manicure was already dry and ready for the decals to be applied. Oh well, I think it still turned out really cool!

As always, the water decals were a breeze to work with and I couldn't be happier with them! They're super affordable too and will only set you back two bucks and some change.

If you would like to purchase anything from Born Pretty, they offer a 10% off code for Nailed readers!

Disclosure: This product was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

We've all been there. You see a polish--on the internet, in a magazine--and are overcome by an instant, overwhelming urge to have it on your fingertips. But sometimes, for one reason or another, you can't buy it just then, so you have to file it away on your wishlist and hope that someday, it will be yours. We call these coveted polishes "lemmings" and this week's Twinsie Tuesday theme was to feature a polish that had been a longtime lemming of ours.

The polish I chose was Deborah Lippmann Lara's Theme, a bright, true orange creme. I used to be really into collecting fashion magazines and editorials and Dutch model Lara Stone, the co-creator of this polish, was/is one of my favorite models. In the fashion world, Lara's known for her gap-toothed smile and killer curves.

According to Deborah, Lara came to her with a request for the perfect shade of orange to show off her Dutch pride. (Orange is the color of the Dutch royal family and became a symbol of national pride throughout the Netherlands.) She wanted an orange that was bright, but not neon. The resulting shade, of course, was Lara's Theme.

As both a fan of Lara's and a girl who was also in search of her perfect orange polish, Lara's Theme was a shoe-in for my wishlist. I took a long time to pull the trigger, but eventually found it (plus a bottle of Deborah Lippmann's incredible cuticle oil) for seven or eight bucks on Ebay. I couldn't resist such a steal!

The formula is divine and covers in three coats. Lara's Theme is such a rich, vibrant shade of orange that works perfectly for both the citrus shades of summer and the harvest hues of fall. It took a long time for Lara's Theme to finally find its way into my stash, but it was well worth the wait! I not only squashed a long-term lemming, but I found my new favorite orange polish too!

What was the last polish you had a major lemming for? If you're in search of some new polishes to lust after, I'm sure my fellow Twinsies can help you out with that! ;)

Sunday, September 22, 2013

I haven't used a nail dryer in years (probably since the last time I got my nails done at a salon, which was in middle school, if memory serves) but they really do come in handy, both for everyday nail painting or for nail art and multi-layered manicures. I've been testing out the USpicy mini dryer all week and I like how convenient and portable this little guy is! This dryer is available on Amazon HERE, where you can purchase a pair for $19.99. I received one silver dryer for review.

This is a mini dryer, so it's small (about four inches high, four inches long and 3 inches wide) and lightweight. The small size makes it easy to take on a trip or over to a friend's house and easy to store between manicures as well. My one gripe against the size is that I couldn't fit all five fingers inside. You have to maneuver a bit to fit your thumb in and it's not the easiest or most comfortable thing to do. As for feet, I take a size 7 1/2 shoe and I could fit all five toes in with no problem, so this dryer could be used for pedicures as well.

There is a port on the back of the dryer for a wall plug. However, a
heads-up that a plug is NOT included, so you'll either need an adapter
cord that fits the dryer or two AA batteries. I didn't want to scrummage
around for a plug that fit, so I
used batteries and it worked perfectly.

Using the fan is easy. There are no switches to flip, so you
don't have to struggle with those while trying to keep your fresh manicure intact. Instead, the bottom
part of the inside of the dryer is one large button, which you gently
hold down to turn the fan on. The inside of the dryer has enough
overhead room that I didn't have to worry about bumping my nails on the
top of the fan compartment.

The fan itself is very quiet. I thought it would be a lot louder, like a blow dryer, but it just makes a soft "whirring" noise when it's running. It's quiet enough that I was able to talk over Skype with my boyfriend the other day while using the fan. I could easily hear him with the fan running and he said he could barely hear it on his end.

This isn't the most powerful fan, but it gets the job done and is a nice, handy little fan for the price. It was a tremendous help when I was doing my Twinsie Tuesday nail art earlier this week and really cut down on dry time between layers and steps! My only complaint is I do wish this dryer was a touch wider so I could easily fit my thumb in, but other than that, I was happy with it!

Disclosure: This product was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Deborah Lippmann has a new collection and some blockbuster gift sets on tap for the holiday season.
The new collection, called "Silk!", will feature three new polishes, each with a "matteen" (matte with a hint of shimmer) finish. Take a look!

L to R: Harem Silks From Bombay, Pseudo Silk Kimono, Red Silk Boxers

In addition to the Silk Collection, DL's holiday offerings will include three sets of mini polishes: Big Bang, Starlight and Space Oddity.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Peace & Love & OPI is one of two polishes I snagged from OPI's San Francisco Collection. (You can read my thoughts on the other, Alcatraz...Rocks, HERE.) Peace & Love & OPI is a beautiful duochrome that shifts from a burgundy-type shade to teal. The duochrome is nice and intense; no having to tilt your nails to weird angles just to see the shift.

The formula is decent, although maybe a little on the brushstroke-y side. I used three coats here. From photos I've seen, Peace & Love & OPI seems to be a spot-on dupe for Essie For The Twill Of It, so you likely will not need one if you already have the other.

To me, this is one of the standout shades from the San Francisco Collection. I love how strong the duochrome is and how you can see both the purple and the teal at the same time. I found the San Francisco Collection on the whole to be a little disappointing but Peace & Love & OPI is an absolute winner.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

I hoard collect Urban Decay's eyeliners (and eyeshadows) like I'm stocking up for the make-up apocalypse. I absolutely adore their fun colors and silky smooth formulas. Luckily for all us UD fangirls out there, the brand is releasing two new liner sets for the holidays and the first one to hit shelves is called Black Market!

The Black Market Set retails for $36 and features six liners, five of which are new and exclusive to this set. Each pencil is 0.03 oz in size, so they are smaller than UD's regular liners, but these babies are so creamy and pigmented that even the smaller liners will last you a very long while! The shades included in this set are:

West (dark brown pearl)

Desperation (gray matte)

Black Market (black satin)

Apathy (shimmering olive green)

Riot (deep sparkling violet)

Ink (navy satin)

L to R: West, Desperation, Apathy, Black Market, Riot, Ink

There are some gorgeous shades for fall in this set and all would go perfectly with a dark smokey eye. The set is definitely geared toward a darker palette, with UD's other holiday release, the upcoming Ocho Loco 2, covering the brights. Ink, Desperation and Apathy are my favorites here, although I must say there isn't a bad shade in the bunch!

As for the liners themselves, UD's liners are my all-time favorite! They glide on effortlessly and are so creamy smooth, delivering rich, intense pigmentation that lasts all day. The pencils are also waterproof. You have about 30 seconds to smudge and smoke 'em and after that, they stay put.

If you're already a fan of UD's liners, this latest batch does not disappoint and the chance to own five all-new shades makes this a very enticing set! If you've never tried any of these liners before, this is a fantastic way to get half a dozen shades at a reasonable price. Prepare to fall in love!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme was to do a mani from a Youtube tutorial video. I am a huge fan of singer Lana Del Rey, so I used a tutorial by user kattiology to help me try and recreate Lana's nails from the music video for her song "Born To Die." In the video, Lana is sporting a gorgeous mani with a milky nude base and gold and red chevron tips.

I used Wet N Wild 2% Milk for my base, Essie Good As Gold for my gold and Revlon Red as my red. I was able to do the design on both hands, so it was fun to wear this as a full manicure and I think I'll keep it on for a few days, even if it doesn't look quite perfect.

The hardest part of this mani for me was shaping the gold chevrons; it's tough to get them centered and looking even on both sides. Layering the red over the top of the gold was easy--you just have to follow the lines you created with the gold--but actually trying to draw those straight lines with the gold was tricky. I swear, nothing gives me more nail art anxiety than trying to draw a friggin' straight line!

That being said, I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. I don't purport to be a good (or even passable) nail artist, so anytime I attempt an "artsy" mani and come up with something that isn't an utter, embarrassing failure, I consider that a victory!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Color Club Pearl District is a rather interesting color, kind of like a metallic, mustard-tinged brass. I can't lie, when I first put it on, I kind of hated it with my skintone. But then I realized what it reminded me of: a tiger's eye gemstone. In addition to matching it in color, Pearl District also has
that same smooth, shiny finish you would expect from a polished tiger's
eye stone. It took some warming up to, but it's definitely a unique polish and a great fit for autumn.

The formula is solid, if a little brushstroke-y, and covers in three coats. I was surprised how much I came around to this polish and I have to applaud Color Club for releasing such an offbeat shade. This will be one of those shades that people either love or hate. Fans of unusual metallics like Butter London Wallis will want to check this one out!

So what do you think: eclectic or kinda ugly? It's definitely not something I would normally gravitate toward, but the more I look at it, the more I like it.

Disclosure: This polish was sent to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

The product itself is a clear gel dispensed via a pump, to keep everything nice and sanitary. A single pump goes a long way, especially if you use toner on your skin beforehand. I've used Grease Lightning as a spot treatment and as a general preventative measure in areas where I am typically most prone to breakouts (chin and mouth area) and it works like a charm both ways! I use this product once a day--although sometimes twice a day if I'm fighting a particularly stubborn breakout--before bed, as the last step of my nightly skin routine.

I've used benzoyl peroxide spot treatments before and let me tell you, my skin does not like them. I get red, flaky and unbearably itchy around the entire area I used the spot treatment. The itchiness can last up to 24 hours after I first applied the spot treatment and it's one of the main reasons I moved away from benzoyl perozide-based products and opted to try out gentler, more natural alternatives. Grease Lightning doesn't cause any redness or irritation on my skin, which I love! I experience some dryness and tightness in the area where I dabbed some gel on (to be expected), but this is only temporary and does not leave behind any lasting dryness or flaking. Everything feels completely balanced and normal by the time I wake up in the morning. I appreciate that this product is tough on acne, but not on the rest of my skin!

I very rarely get big, cystic pimples (especially since I started using Herbalism), but when I do, Grease Lightning zaps them away quickly. A while ago, I woke up early one morning and could feel one of those swollen, under-skin bastards of a zit starting to emerge on my upper cheek. I dabbled on some Grease Lightning and, since I wasn't feeling well, went back to sleep for a few more hours. When I woke up, the zit already looked and felt a lot better. The zit never surfaced and was completely gone in a day or so! With smaller zits like whiteheads, which is what I struggle with the most, Grease Lightning gets rid of them very quickly--usually by the next morning if I put some on before bed.

If you haven't seen results with benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid spot treatments or if you're in need of a spot treatment that won't completely dry out your skin, you might want to give Grease Lightning a try! It's become one of the key products in my nightly routine and, along with Herbalism, has really helped keep my acne under control and my skin looking clear!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

One of my favorite glitter layerings in recent memory has got to be pairing Shimmer Wendy--an orange, purple and blue glitterbomb--with Pure Nail Lacquer Sunny Disposition, a very interesting and unique shade of green. I've been looking for the perfect base to wear Wendy with and in my eyes, these two are made for each other!

This is one coat of Wendy over two(?) of Sunny Disposition. Wendy's formula is excellent and didn't give me any problems. I'm extremely pleased with how this combo turned out and I really love all of the fun colors it has! I've mentioned several times on here before that orange and blue is one of my favorite color combinations and when you throw in some purple, green and then make it all sparkly too boot, that certainly doesn't hurt! ;)

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Coming this January, NOPI will be teaming up with singer Carrie Underwood. The collection will feature 14 new polishes, including Carrie'd Away, a gold textured polish that NOPI has dubbed Carrie's "signature shade." Take a look!

The collection looks very nice--maybe a few too many pinks for my tastes, but that's just me. For me, Goodbye Shoes, Sweet Daisy and Carrie'd Away are the ones that jump out as polishes I might like to pick up. I'm digging the new NOPI logo too; it looks more sophisticated than the old one.

Are you happy to see Carrie as OPI's latest celebrity collaborator? What do you think of the collection?

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the Revlon by Marchesa nail wrap collection ever since I saw the first preview images. The designs looked gorgeous and I've become a big fan of nail wraps lately, so I was interested in checking out how Revlon's stack up to others I've tried.

The wraps come with 16 decals, a nail file and a cuticle stick. There's an excellent variety of sizes, although I did have a bit of trouble with finding a decal to fit my pinky finger; even the smallest decal was still too wide.

The design I'll be showing you today is called Brocade. Brocade has a vibrant turquoise (maybe a little bit of seafoam green mixed in there too) base with gleaming metallic gold flourishes and sunbursts. The design has a very Rococo vibe to it, which I love! The gold detailing is slightly raised, almost like they're embossed on, which makes these wraps look and feel even more ornate. I cannot get over how pretty these wraps are!

While the design is absolutely beautiful, the wear time of these wraps left a bit to be desired. The wraps themselves feel sturdy enough; they have the thicker, almost sticker-like texture that seems to be most common with nail wraps. Initially, they applied well and went on smoothly, but after only a few hours (and mind you, this was just me sitting on the couch and watching TV, so I wasn't doing anything that would disrupt the wraps) I noticed some of the wraps were started to crease and ripple around the edges, which was disappointing. By the next day, I had noticeable tipwear on several of my fingers.

To their credit, the wraps stayed put through four days of wear (and I received many compliments on them during this time) and none of them ever peeled off, but by the end of the fourth day, the rippling had gotten even more noticeable and some of the wraps had tears around the tips. I would have loved to wear the wraps longer, because they really are lovely, but most of the wraps were looking pretty worn, so I figured it was time for a change. If I was going on aesthetics alone though, these would easily rank as one of my all-time favorites!

I have another set of these wraps still left to try out; these ones are clear-based decals designed to be worn over a base color, so they have a different texture and thickness to them. I'll be curious to see if they are any more durable. I really hope so because I am such a fan of the designs in this collection, but the wear on the Brocade decals was kind of disappointing. I'd be very curious to hear from anyone else who has tried these wraps!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

This week's Twinsie Tuesday theme challenged us to re-create a manicure from a magazine. As a sidenote, one of my biggest pet peeves with style magazines is when they're doing a feature on polish and they have photos of a bunch of different colors spilling out of the bottle. All I can think of is how much polish is being wasted! But I digress.

After a bit of searching around on Google for inspiration, I came across this mani, inspired by artist Ellsworth Kelly, that was featured in Nylon Magazine. The bright colors and the bold lines and curves of the Color Field style caught my eye.

I made some tweaks to my version of this mani, while still trying to stay true to the general idea and color scheme. I think it turned out okay, given my limited artistic abilities. The abstract nature of this mani gave me some leeway for when my lines and curves weren't completely perfect, which is often. ;)

I really like the way all of the different colors come together here. I always like to play and experiment with brights! I didn't have a good match for the orange used in the original mani,
so I substituted Lime Crime Peaches <3 Cream, which I think worked
pretty well. I also flipped the blue and yellow on the index finger,
because I don't think I have a bright yellow opaque enough to easily
cover a bright blue.

I'm very curious to see what looks and magazines my fellow Twinsies chose for their manis today! Have you ever attempted to recreate a mani you saw in a magazine? How did it turn out?

Monday, September 9, 2013

OPI's Halloween offering this year is a set of four new minis. I saw this set in-person for the first time yesterday, so if you like the look of it, you might be able to find it at your favorite polish place already!

I am not a fan of minis, so I didn't pick this up, but it is a fun set of colors that work beyond only wearing them for Halloween. Rolling Bones in particular had a very beautiful, multi-faceted shimmer to it that doesn't come across in this preview shot. To me, that is the stand out from this set. The rest are nice, but don't look nearly as unique.

Will you be channeling your inner rock goddess with this set or is it a pass for you?

Sunday, September 8, 2013

There are few feelings I hate more than when my hands are all dried
out. Maybe it's a weird quirk of mine, but when my hands get really dry,
it bothers me to the point of distraction. I struggle with dry hands
year-round (I work at a place where I have to wash/sanitize my hands
pretty frequently) and with fall just around the corner, they're only going to get drier from here! Enter Lush Handy Gurugu Hand Cream to save the day--and my hands!

Handy
Gurugu contains a huge variety of butters: shea butter, pumpkinseed
butter, cashew butter, almond butter and peanut butter. It also has
softening almond oil, soothing and moisturizing rose water and
antiseptic lemon juice. Handy Gurugu was designed to be Lush's richest,
most intensely nourishing hand cream and a little bit definitely goes a long way.
Just a little dab spreads all the way across both my hands, making them
feel soft, moisturized and protected--all without the leftover grease
and residue that I encounter with some hand creams. The texture is very
smooth and creamy with hydration that is both instantaneous and
long-lasting.

The 100g pot it comes in may not seem
like much at first, but it should last you a good while, because it
doesn't take much product to feel the benefits of Handy Gurugu! I
usually put this cream on before bed and the container is a perfect for
keeping on the nightstand or you could pop it in your purse too.

The
only thing I'm not 100% crazy about is the smell. It's sort of
rose-scented with a powdery touch to it, which I find a little
grandma-ish. I really love how moisturizing and luxurious it feels on my
hands though, so I can live with the scent. It's not awful, just not my
favorite, especially with so many other yummy Lush scents out there. :)

This is one of the nicest, most effective hand creams I've tried (The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector is another favorite). I love Handy Gurugu and will definitely re-order once I run out!

Saturday, September 7, 2013

This polish has a rather long name, but I can sum up everything you need to know about it in just two words: "Buy me!" This is my first time trying actual polish from Born Pretty Store, one of my favorite one-stop nail shops, and let me say, it did not disappoint! If you're a fan of polishes like Essie's Shine of the Times, this is like that, but on crazy, color-changing steroids.

There is a whole line of these jaw-dropping iridescent flakies to choose from (see them all HERE). I chose #4. For $11.79, you get not only the flakie polish (which has a clear base), but a perfectly coordinated base shade too! I only have the flakie for review, but trust me when I say I think this beauty would look dazzling over just about anything! There are so many different flakie colors at play here and I'm sure you'd see more or less of certain colors depending on what you layered it over, which is always a fun experiment! Here I'm wearing one coat over Essie Bobbing For Baubles, a deep navy creme.

Pictures do this polish zero justice. Color shifts can be a tricky thing to pick up on camera (at least for me), but in person, it is so vibrant and multifaceted. I can see pink, orange, red, yellow, blue, green and teal. Even in dim indoor lighting, the different colors shift back and forth like crazy! It's seriously mesmerizing! Polish with caution, though; this is what I like to call a "car crash polish," where it can instantly steal your attention away from everything else! I have several other flakies in my stash and, gorgeous as they all are, this is the one to rule them all. If you love flakies, I'd say this is a must-have!

If you would like to order anything from the Born Pretty Store, they offer a 10% off code for all Nailed readers:

Disclosure: This polish was provided to me for my honest review. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.